Portable sectional game board

ABSTRACT

A portable game board device is made in aligned sections hingedly interconnected and foldable one upon the other into compact form to define a carrying case with a latch and carrying handle. The described game board is designed for golf putting practice or similar games where a ball or a number of balls or other playing pieces are rolled or slid over an upper surface of the unfolded sections toward a cup or other targets.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,861,524

Coleman Jan. 21, 1975 PORTABLE SECTIONAL GAME BOARD [76] Inventor: JamesF. Coleman, 5215 SE. 57 g); j tnerigeorgiljrlzlduarltoS k St. P a d 097206 or e gen ,or zrm- 1s par man,

or reg Campbell, Leigh, Hall & Whinston [22] Filed: July 5, 1973 [21]Appl. No.: 376,357 [57] ABSTRACT A portable game board device is made inaligned sec- [52] US. Cl 206/315, 273/176 FB, 273/176 H tions hingedlyinterconnected and foldable one upon 51 1111. C1 A63b 69/36 the otherinto compact form to define a carrying Case [58] Field f Search 273/176177 178 179 with a latch and carrying handle. The described game273/180; 206/315 board is designed for golf putting practice or similargames where a ball or a number of balls or other play- [56] ReferencesCited ing pieces are rolled or slid over an upper surface of UNITEDSTATES PATENTS the unfolded sections toward a cup or other targets.1,761,039 6/1930 l-lazeltine 273/176 H 5 Claims, 7 Drawing FiguresPORTABLE SECTIONAL GAME BOARD This invention relates to improvements ina game device and more particularly to a game board simulating a puttingarea in strip form made of three hingedly interconnected sectionsfoldable over onto each other into compact form for transporting orstorage. When unfolded into an elongated playing condition, the top faceof each section is preferably, though not restrictively, surfaced with amat of material simulating grass and obtainable on the market under manytrade names including the trade name Tartan Turf."

Principal objects of the invention are to provide a game of thecharacter described which is of simple, efficient, durable construction,readily portable and easily extended from a collapsed condition to anextended one ready for use as a golf putting strip or similar game.

Another object is to provide a game of this character which not onlyaffords amusement, but also serves as a portable practice facility forgolfers in the home or office or while traveling.

Another object is to provide a sectional game board which folds andlatches to form a carrying case.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages will becomemore apparent from the following description which proceeds withreference to the accompanying drawing. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a'game board made in accordance with myinvention and shown in condition for its intended use;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view on an enlarged scale showing the boardin a position of partial collapse;

FIG. 3A is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing a modification;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the game board when fullycollapsed;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the right-hand end of FIG. 4, with alocking mechanism secured thereto; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the right-hand end ofFIG. 5.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing wherein like referencenumerals indicate like parts, numeral 1 indicates generally a game boardsection in the form of a rectangular box having a bottom wall 2 with aflat inner or upper surface 2a, end walls 3,4, side walls 5,6, andsometimes hereinafter referred to as game board section C.

As best illustrated in FIG. 2, a center game board section B includes abottom board member 9 which, as shown in FIG. 4, forms a cover for theopen box-like section C, a forward end wall 10, and inclined side wallsll, 12 which taper rearwardly as shown to a point of mergence with thetop rearward end of the bottom wall 9. Side walls ll, 12 and forward endwall 10 support an upper board member 8 having an inclined upper orinner playing surface 8a with a target in the form of a putting cup 25.

Itwill be noted that side walls ll, 12 are inset from the side edges ofbottom wall 9, and the forward and rear ends of the side walls 11, 12are inset from the corresponding ends of wall 9. These offsets providethe forward end of section B with what might be termed a step 13 and itsrearward end with a step 15 and enable bottom wall 9 to fit neatly as acover on section C with the upper inclined portions of section B fittinginside the side and end walls of section C. Section B is hingedlyconnected to the rear end of section C by hinge means 30.

A third flat game board section A is connected at its forward end bycooperative hinge means 17, 18 to the rear end of the second section Bso as to be foldable upwardly over section B with an upper, playingsurface 19 of section A lying in face-to-face abutment against playingsurface 8a of section B as shown in FIG. 3A. When unfolded to itsplaying position, section As playing surface forms a smooth inclinedcontinuation of playing surface 8a of section B.

From the foregoing and with particular reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, itwill be readily apparent that the rearmost section A may be folded aboutthe hinges I7, 18 to underlie the section B when being collapsed as inFIG. 3 to the fully collapsed position shown in FIG. 4 wherein theentire assembly is of collapsed compact form with sections B and Cdefining a carrying case with section A and the playing surfaces ofsections B and C contained within the case and thus protected fromdamage. In such form, sections B and C can be fastened together at theirunhinged ends by any suitable locking or latch mechanism comprising onepart 22 for cooperation with a companion part 23. A carrying handle 31is provided on a side surface of section C.

The inside or upper, playing surfaces of bottom wall 2 of section C,bottom wall 9 of center section B and rearmost section A may be coveredwith material simulating the color and texture of grass to represent anatural putting green. Alternatively one or more of such sections couldbe carpeted for the same purpose. Thus the cup-like opening 25 ofsection B represents the hole or cup of a standard putting green.Additional cups, other targets or hazards could be provided in section Bor either of the other sections.

It is to be noted that the sections A, B and C in FIGS. 1-6 areidentical with the corresponding inverted parts in FIG. 3A. However,because of the inversion of the assembly in FIG. 3A, the box C becomes alid or closure for section B, withsection A folded over upon it. In thisway the device may be unfolded more conveniently by lifting the free endof section A upwardly from section B after lifting lid C, thuspreventing the free end of section A from dragging along the uppersurface of bottom wall 2 of box section C, as shown in FIG. 3.

However, when either section B or C is placed upon a supporting surface,the game may be readily opened and extended to its full-length playingposition without difficulty.

If desired, the playing surface of any or all of the sections may bedevoid of any covering to provide a smooth, fast rolling surface for agolf ball, puck or other movable playing piece.

For convenience in further identifying the three components A, B and Cof the game board, section A may be referred to as the approach or rampsection, B as the target section, and C as the terminal section.

In use as a golf ball putting practice device, all three sections can belaid open along a flat surface as shown in FIG. 2. A player would standin putting position just to the left of inclined approach section A inFIG. 2, with a golf ball on the supporting surface in line with thesections and a putter in hand. Using a conventional putting stroke, hewould attempt to putt the ball into cup 25. If he overshoots, the ballmay roll into terminal section C where it would be stopped by the sideor end walls of such section. If he undershoots, the ball would rollback down the inclined surfaces of sections B and A to the player.

Although the illustrated game board device has three sections, it couldbe provided with only two sections the equivalent of sections B and C,or more than three sections, if desired. Similarly, any number of cupsor other targets could be provided, in any of the multiple sections.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of myinvention, I am aware that many modifications thereof will suggestthemselves to others skilled in the art. I claim as part of my inventionall such modifications as come within the spirit and scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A portable sectional game board device comprismg:

at least three game board sections including a first ramp section, asecond target section and a third carrying case section,

said ramp section being of flat rigid board-like construction and beinghinged at one end to an upper end of said target section so that saidramp section can be folded over said target section for carrying and sothat when said ramp section is unfolded it forms a longitudinalcontinuation of said target section along an inclined plane from saidtarget section downwardly to a supporting surface,

said target section including a playing surface portion defining aninclined playing surface with a target pocket therein and a flat rigidbacking member supporting said playing surface portion,

said carrying case section being of open rectangular box-likeconstruction with an end of said backing member remote from said rampsection being hinged to an end of said case section and said casesection having upstanding side and end walls of a height such that saidramp and target sections can be folded into and contained within saidcase section with said backing member forming a cover for said casesection.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said backing member of saidtarget section and said case section include fastening means forfastening said sections together for carrying and an outer side wall ofsaid case section includes a carrying handle.

3. A device according to claim 1 wherein said backing member is hingedto an upper end edge of said case section such that the inclination ofsaid target section can be adjusted by adjusting the height of a freeend of said case section above a supporting surface.

4. A device according to claim 1 wherein said playing surface portionincludes upstanding side walls and an upstanding end wall inset from thecorresponding sides and end of said backing member to an extent suchthat said playing portion can be folded within said case section whilesaid backing member covers said case section.

5. A device according to claim 4 wherein said backing member, upstandingside and end walls and said inclined playing surface of said targetsection define a hollow interior between said playing surface and saidbacking member.

1. A portable sectional game board device comprising: at least threegame board sections including a first ramp section, a second targetsection and a third carrying case section, said ramp section being offlat rigid board-like construction and being hinged at one end to anupper end of said target section so that said ramp section can be foldedover said target section for carrying and so that when said ramp sectionis unfolded it forms a longitudinal continuation of said target sectionalong an inclined plane from said target section downwardly to asupporting surface, said target section including a playing surfaceportion defining an inclined playing surface with a target pockettherein and a flat rigid backing member supporting said playing surfaceportion, said carrying case section being of open rectangular box-likeconstruction with an end of said backing member remote from said rampsection being hinged to an end of said case section and said casesection having upstanding side and end walls of a height such that saidramp and target sections can be folded into and contained within saidcase section with said backing member forming a cover for said casesection.
 2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said backing member ofsaid target section and said case section include fastening means forfastening said sections together for carrying and an outer side wall ofsaid case section includes a carrying handle.
 3. A device according toclaim 1 wherein said backing member is hinged to an upper end edge ofsaid case section such that the inclination of said target section canbe adjusted by adjusting the height of a free end of said case sectionabove a supporting surface.
 4. A device according to claim 1 whereinsaid playing surface portion includes upstanding side walls and anupstanding end wall inset from the corresponding sides and end of saidbacking member to an extent such that said playing portion can be foldedwithin said case section while said backing member covers said casesection.
 5. A device according to claim 4 wherein said backing member,upstanding side and end walls and said inclined playing surface of saidtarget section define a hollow interior between said playing surface andsaid backing member.